Crate Bookcase

I've become a pinning fool and spend a ridiculous amount of time pulling together inspiration for future projects on Pinterest. I'm going to pat myself on the back for managing to complete four things based on pins so far. The first was a Father's Day gift for Mark, the next the cross stitch wall art that I shared two weeks ago, and the third being the laptop sleeve that I mentioned yesterday. But right now I'm ready to give you the rundown for how I made another.


Old wooden crates are popping up everywhere lately, and I was particularly smitten with the idea of using crates as a bookcase, like the one pictured above. I love that it's a little weathered and beat up looking (perfect for a house with a toddler) and that being on casters makes it super-mobile. So I hunted down three similarly sized crates (two from an antique store in my area, the other from ebay) and hit up Home Depot for some supplies.


I grabbed a long, thin strip of wood. I have no idea what it was called, or what it was meant for (I seem to recall it saying threshold on the tag), but I liked the color and imperfections it had. And the price (less than $2) was right up my alley. That piece, plus four casters, was all I needed for this little project. I took everything outside and began to formulate a plan. It was important to me that the bookshelf be able to be disassembled pretty easily. What can I say? I'm fickle and wanted to make sure I could use them as actual crates, or mount them on the wall, or chop them up for firewood (ok, not really) if I felt so inclined. I figured it'd be best to use two strips of wood along the backside of the crates as a way of "attaching" them to each other. In reality, they're only attached to the wood strips. So I eyeballed how long the strips should be, marked the wood and got to cutting.


I also cut three shorter pieces of wood (not pictured) to attach to the base of the bottom crate, with my plan being to attach the casters to those pieces rather than the crate itself. I used screws and washers to attach the casters and then nails to attach the wood pieces to the crate.


With the casters on and ready to go, it was time to attach the wood strips to the back of the crates. For this step I predrilled pilot holes through the wood strip and the crate and then drove extra long nails through the holes from the back. I was left with about an inch of the nail poking through to the front side of the bookcase, which I bent down with my hammer. I thought about using shorter nails, but everything I tried felt a bit unsecure, and I figured the bent nails only added to the beat-up, rustic charm. Right?!


And with that, it was done. I carted it inside and set it up in the living room. I haven't put it to use yet, but I'm loving the look of it in the space.



Have you pinned any other ideas using crates? Here's a few more I like: toy bins, on the wall, as planters, bathroom storage, more on the wall.

Get Crafty

I'm not likely to get much crafting done this Christmas, what with another move on the way, but I still posted some of my favorite finds from around the Interwebs over on Potential Projects. Give it a look!

What crafty plans do you have in the works this season?

Ohdeedoh

Check it out folks... my Charlotte's project is being featured on ohdeedoh, the fantastic children's website run by Apartment Therapy.


Color me super duper surprised, and admittedly a little giddy!

And don't worry, I'm not disappearing from blogging, even though the two week wait between posts would have you thinking otherwise. I'm just taking a quick break while getting things packed up for the 6 weeks that we'll be living with my parents. I'll be back to the regular schedule soon!

Belt It Up

I mentioned back in my pants to skirt tutorial that Charlotte is a skinny girl, and nothing's changed. I just recently washed her new fall clothes and aside from her jeggings and a couple pairs of knit pants, all the waistbands on her pants are too big. We can't go down a size though, because then they'll just be too short. Problem? No. Just an excuse to make her some cute belts. Here's the lowdown on how you can make one for your little munchkin (or yourself for that matter):

1. Begin by gathering together some basic supplies. One or more pieces of fabric, some D rings (I used 1 inch rings, but would have preferred 3/4 inch rings had I been able to find them) and some matching thread.


2. Measure the waist of the belt-wearer and if it's a toddler, add about 7 inches. For an adult you'd probably want to add about 11 or 12, and a child would be somewhere in between. Cut a strip of fabric 2 1/2 inches high (higher for an adult's belt) and as long as the measurement you just calculated.

You can opt to use all the same fabric on your belt, or mix some fabrics together like I did. If you're mixing, just cut your main strip of fabric to the actual waist measurement and then cut a few 2 1/2 inch squares of your other fabric(s). You'll need enough extra squares to make up for those extra 7 inches, plus some to account for seams. Make sense? Hope so. In any case, 4 or 5 squares should be enough.


3. If you're mixing fabrics you'll want to go ahead and piece them all together now. Just sew all your seams at 1/4 inch. You can do the different fabrics in varying lengths, or if your anal retentive side can't be controlled (ahem... that would be me) you can measure each piece to get the exact arrangement you're looking for.


4. Now press open all your seams. Sidenote, did you know there's actually a difference between pressing and ironing? I didn't (but I'm probably the only one as I'm severely lacking in domestic skills). Pressing is when you use the weight and heat of the iron to create a crease. There's no movement of the iron involved. Ironing is when you actually push the iron back and forth against the fabric. You want to press your seams open.


5. Now fold your fabric in half lengthwise, right sides out, and press that crease.


6. Then unfold the crease you just created, fold in on each side until you get your desired belt height and press again. I was looking for a 3/4 inch belt and so folded in about 1/2 inches on each side. It helps to actually get out a ruler to measure from your center crease to each new crease you're creating, just to make sure your belt doesn't end up all wonky.


7. Now, with both sides folded in, you'll want to fold together along that center crease again (you may need to get the iron back out to get everything nice and smooth) and pin every inch or so.


8. Head on over to your machine and stitch your belt closed, about 1/8 inch from the edge. Then go back and stitch 1/8 inch from the edge on the creased side as well.


9. Grab your D rings and one end of your belt. Loop the D rings through, then fold over the fabric twice and stitch in place. (You can see from how out of line the D rings were that I'd have been better off with 3/4 inch D rings for my 3/4 inch belt.)


10. Then fold over the fabric on the other end of your belt twice and stitch in place. Fun little X shape optional. :)


And you're done.


Normally, I'd make my little model show off her stylish new duds for you, but she's fighting the beginnings of a cold, so sleep was more important than a photo shoot.

P.S. If you're looking for more great belt ideas, check out these posts (each word is a link) over at Lil Blue Boo.

P.P.S. This is your last reminder to enter my giveaway! The winner will be drawn on Monday, so get your name in before Sunday at midnight.

Patterns Galore

I love etsy, not only because it has great vintage and some amazingly creative handmade items, but also because it's a phenomenal source for patterns, so you can DIY some projects of your own. Here's a few things I've been eyeing:


Wash Cloth Hand Puppets by Precious Patterns
Crocheted Capelet by Leila & Ben
no 43 Zipper Pouches by Sewing With Me
Urban Unisex Hoodie by Heidi & Finn
Patchwork Pillows I by LindyLou
Gone Fishin' Set by Bugga Bugs

Too many choices! Which is your favorite?

Numbered Pots

A while back, while just starting to prep the house for the market, I began thinking about what I could do to make my townhouse stand out from the 31 others on the street. Since painting shutters and a major landscaping project were not gonna happen, I settled on sprucing up our house numbers and bringing in a couple new plants. Here's how you can do the same for less than $25:

Gather together your supplies - some terra cotta pots, acrylic paint (at least two colors) and basic painting supplies. While the spray sealer is optional, you will also need some paper, chalk, a pencil and a computer, unless you want to free hand your numbers.


If you deem it necessary, begin by spraying the inside of your pots with sealer. This will keep water from affecting the stability of the pot in the future.


Next you'll need to use whatever shade of acrylic paint you like best to paint all the visible areas on your pots and saucers, to include 1-2 inches down on the inside of your pot. I opted to use a foam brush, figuring it'd provide for a smoother finish than a brush would, and did two coats.


While your paint is drying you'll want to work on your numbering. I used Microsoft Word to print out the characters in the fonts and sizes I liked best and then flipped the sheets over and rubbed chalk on the numbers, like so.


Then I taped the paper on the pots and used a pencil to trace the outline of each number.


When you pull the paper away you're left with a chalk outline of your characters. Clean up the extra chalk dust a bit and then just use a paint brush and contrasting paint color to fill in the lines.


Now just put a couple plants in and show off your handiwork! And please make sure to let your plants get all wilted and pathetic looking before you take photos of them. This is actually an extremely important step in the process!




P.S. Potential Projects and Droolworthy Decor have both been recently updated.

Headboard Solution

Last week I asked for opinions on how to fill the blank white wall above the bed in my guest bedroom. I liked all the solutions I offered up, as well as those offered by others, but have ultimately come up with a different answer to my problem. You see, I was concerned about spending money on a space that is hopefullly not going to be ours for much longer. That cheapness, coupled with Mark having lost (and later found) his wallet and us having no access to credit or debit cards for a few days, prompted me to make due with fixing the issue with things I already have. So here's what I did:



Fun, right?! These frames had been taking up space in my craft room for too long, so I decided to fill them with plain cardstock and arrange them on the wall as a makeshift headboard / art grouping. Figuring out the arrangement of the frames can be difficult, especially when putting a bunch of nail holes in your soon-to-be on-the-market house is an issue, so here's an easy way to get the layout right:

Step 1. Trace your frames onto newspaper, old wrapping paper, kraft paper or the like and cut out.



Step 2. Mark your nail holes on the paper. You can either measure to find the spot (like I did) or put a tiny spot on paint on the picture hanger and rest it on your paper to make the spot. If you have frames that are similar in size but with different nail positions, make sure to label them.




Step 3. Use tape that has a light hold (painter's tape works well but I didn't have any handy) to start taping your frames to the wall. Reposition as necessary. I find it easiest to work my way out from the center. And if you like the arrangement, but think they're too high on the wall (like I did), just measure down the same amount on each paper and make a new nail mark.



Step 4. Once you like the layout, drive nails through the nail holes you marked on your paper cutouts.



Step 5. Tear the paper off the nail and hang the frames.



I like the graphic, bold look of the color blocks, and this was super easy to accomplish. That was especially important because we have a realtor coming by the house today to talk with us about what else we need to do to make the place saleable and what price we'll be able to list it at (cross your fingers that she thinks it worth what we do!).

A special thanks to Mandy, Dad and Mom (especially Mom!!!!) for spending hours helping us clean, purge and organize over the last few days. There's no way this place would have been ready for a realtor's eyes without that help!

More Pillow Talk

I mentioned on Wednesday that I'm working on gussying up the extra bedroom so it'll be ready when the house goes on the market. I'm sure it won't make a difference at all to the potential buyer, but I decided a throw pillow for the bed needed to be made (I'm nuts for sure). This one is similar to the pair I made for Charlotte, but with a different design on the back, so I whipped up a tutorial for you.

Here's what you need:


A piece of fabric cut to the size of your pillow form plus 3/4 inches for seam allowance (my form is 14x14, so I cut to 14 3/4 x 14 3/4) and an old pillowcase. I've also got a couple chenille flowers pictured. I didn't feel like my square of fabric had enough, so I handstitched a couple more onto it, using an overcast stitch (it's amazing what you can learn to do out there on the interwebs!!).


Sorry for the terrible photo of my overcasting! That's what happens when you only have two hands.

Once your pillow front is done you'll be ready to cut your back pieces. This is where a little math comes in. You'll need to add the width of your pillow front (14 3/4 inches for me) plus the amount you want your two pieces to overlap (I opted for 2 1/4 inches for the sake of easy math). Divide that number (17 in my example) by 2 to get the width of each piece (8 1/2 for my pillow).

Measure in from the edge of the cuff of your pillowcase by the number you just came up with and cut two pieces of the pillowcase to that width and to the height of your pillow front. Clear as mud, right?! Once cut, with right sides in, pin your back pieces to your pillow front. Make sure to keep the cuffs in the center.


At this point you'll want to make sure you like the amount of overlap you created between your two pieces of pillowcase. If you think it's too much overlap, you can trim some fabric off the non-cuff end of one or both of your pieces. If it's not enough, you'll need to cut a new piece from your pillowcase.

Then just stitch all the way around your pillow cover using a 3/8 inch seam allowance (yup, that read 3/8 inches, not 3/4 inches), followed by a zig zag to finish it off.


Trim the corners, flip the case inside out, stuff with your pillow form and she's done.


I love that the pillow can be flipped and displayed backwards for a whole new look! The backside of mine will be great come Halloween, right?!


P.S. I added 10 projects that I'd had bookmarked over at Potential Projects and a slew of new rooms to Droolworthy Decor.